This chapter was based on another prompt, "There's sunshine in your smile."

Part II

Yuri woke up when he was dumped on a hard surface. The movement made his injuries throb, though mostly only on his right half. The numbness radiating from the bites on the left side had made it very hard to feel anything over there, as well as very hard to breathe.

Where was he? He still hurt. The last thing he remembered was passing out on Flynn's back, but now Flynn was gone and the surface was hard - a table, maybe - and the world was still full of darkness. He wanted to reach for Flynn, but couldn't get his arms to move. Flynn's name formed in his mouth, but all his lips managed was a groan. He opened his eyes, but why bother? Fresh air hit them and the stinging spiked again. The view was exactly the same: endlessly dark. Yuri shut them again.

"Will that help him breathe?"

Flynn's voice! It was off to his right, low and worried. Some of Yuri's nerves calmed with the knowledge he wasn't alone here.

"It should." Yuri didn't know this voice, but it was a man standing over him. "The poison bottle will counteract the venom." Cold fingers tugged his shirt open and pushed the collar down his shoulder, exposing the bite wound.

Hey, man, Yuri thought, take me out to dinner before you undress me… heh….. All traces of humour vanished when acid was poured on the open wound. Yuri spasmed and grunted, his brain flashing through thoughts of betrayal that Flynn would bring him to a torturer. His not-numb arm had jerked against the table, sending pain shooting out from the fracture in his elbow.

"You're hurting him!" Familiar hands, warmer than the others', grabbed his opposite shoulder and upper arm.

"It's alcohol to clean the wound."

Yuri gritted his teeth as a cloth pressed against the bite and rubbed against the inflamed skin.

"Yuri, are you awake?" Flynn had leaned forward, his voice close to Yuri's ear. "I'm not sure if you're fully conscious, but if you are, listen to me. You're with a doctor. Everything is going to be alright. We made it to Heliord."

Of course, a doctor. A doctor had to disinfect the wound. Yuri wished he could pass out again as the doctor cleaned it. When he was done, he directed Flynn to lift Yuri up enough that he could wrap bandages around his torso Flynn was as gentle as he could be, but the movement still hurt.

"There's another bite on the leg, correct?"

"Yes," Flynn said, and Yuri braced himself for a repeat.

He was prepared for it this time, but the disinfectant still burned and made his breath come faster. Or, maybe that was the venom releasing its grip on his lungs. Either way, Flynn's hand moved to his and held it gently, thumb rubbing its side. Yuri concentrated on Flynn's touch while his leg was treated. He was a lot more anxious than he'd care to admit, but he justified it to himself by thinking that it was normal to feel panicked when your heart was dangerously close to stopping.

"Move," the doctor said bruskly. "I'll set the fracture in his arm."

Yuri didn't like the sound of this and his mild protest came out as a mumble. Why couldn't he just pass out and wake up when it was over?

"It'll be ok, Yuri," Flynn murmured, close to his ear. Whispering now, Flynn said, "You're almost done."

Hands closed around his arm and pain spiked. Yuri gasped and instinctively tried to pull his arm away, but the doctor's grip was too strong. He couldn't see but he could hear the awful crunching of the bones in his arm clicking into place and then felt the doctor bend it into position.

"Shh." Then Flynn's forehead bumped his and a hand stroked his head. "I know it hurts. Concentrate on my voice. It'll be over soon."

Yuri tried to do as he was told and focus on Flynn. Something soft was wound around his arm. He'd heard once that in the absence of sight, other senses became more alert. In this case, all his senses were focused on touch and Flynn. Concentrate on Flynn. Flynn, who was warm and soft and stroking his hair. So much warmer than the cold, damp strips of plaster the doctor was now applying. This wasn't Yuri's first time getting a cast, but surrounded by everything else, it was the most distressing.

His entire arm was encased, from his knuckles to his bicep. It kept his elbow totally immobile, but considering he still couldn't move his other arm, he felt uneasily vulnerable with both arms out of commission.

Flynn sat up. No, come back, Yuri wanted to feel his touch again. "Are you finished?"

"I'm going to treat the eyes." A thumb came down on Yuri's eyelid and pushed it open. The stinging stabbed his eyeballs and her jerked his head away with a gasp, eyes clamped shut.

The doctor sighed in irritation. "I need to examine your eyes. Hold still."

Yuri hated lying on this doctor's exam table. He hated the doctor. He hated Flynn for bringing him here. It had already been such an awful day, why did they have to extend it? Why couldn't they just let him curl up in a dark corner and pass out in peace? Part of him knew these thoughts were childish, but the sensible part of his mind had taken such a beating today that it wasn't fit to shush it. And so, he behaved childishly by keeping his eyes squeezed shut and his head stubbornly turned away. The only goal he was capable of focusing on right now was to prevent getting hurt again.

"Yuri…." Flynn's voice was soft and soothing, like the voice he used to use on Repede when he was a puppy. "You just have to do one more thing." A pause. "This is the last thing, right?"

"I'll put bandages on the rest of the minor scrapes, but yes. This is the last procedure that should cause him any discomfort."

"Hear that, Yuri? You're almost done. Open your eyes and it will be over faster."

The doctor said, "I don't have time for this." His hand gripped Yuri's chin and turned his head face-up, while the other pried open an eyelid. Over the sound of his own whine of pain, Yuri heard the mutter, "That doesn't look good."

The hands released his face and Yuri gratefully closed his eyes, but after a rustling of tools, the touch returned. This time it was Flynn holding the sides of Yuri's head in a gentle yet insistent grip. Part of Yuri thought, traitor, while the rest of him respected that Flynn was just trying to get him the help he needed. It wasn't Flynn's fault that the only part of his body that didn't hurt was his pinky toe.

His left eyes was pried open and Yuri felt tears welling up around its perimeter. Then the right right received the same treatment, but this time something bright shone directly into his eye, which caused a whole new type of pain and he struggled against Flynn's hands to look away.

"Good, good," the doctor said.

"Good? You hurt him." Flynn's voice was accusatory.

The doctor moved away. "At least one eye still reacted to light. There's still hope of vision being restored."

Yuri's heart leapt at the news and he briefly forgave the doctor for the pain.

"What's that?" Flynn asked.

"Strong healing tincture. Cure bottle mixed with lemon gel concentrate. Hold his head still while I apply it to his eyes - he's not going to like it."

Yuri bit his lip as the doctor returned. This would fix his eyes, he told himself. He just had to let the doctor do this and then he'd be able to look up and see Flynn's beautiful face smiling down at him.

Droplets of what might as well have been acid were squeezed into his eyes. Yuri grunted and his broken arm jerk toward the doctor as if he could punch him with it. Flynn's fingers tightened around his head and he kept whispering soft words of encouragement, as if that would change the fact that it felt like his eyes were being doused with venom all over again. The other eye received the same treatment, and then padded dressing soaked in the stuff were pressed against his eyes. Every instinct told Yuri to shake them off, but before he could manage that, bandages were wrapped around his face and held the burning tight against his eyes.

Yuri couldn't hear the doctor's next words over the red-hot pokers being driven into his skull, and barely felt Flynn's thumbs rubbing his jaw. There was something about other injuries, bumps and scratches that had to be patched up, but thankfully Yuri's mind whited-out before any disinfectant could be poured on them.

Yuri woke abruptly from a dream where his eyes were being pecked out by birds that hooted and chirped. This time, he was on a soft bed in a warm room. Bandages still covered his eyes, which faintly burned. In fact, most of his body faintly ached, but the fact that it was faint was a huge improvement and he felt he could relax for the first time since that monster had burst from the bushes.

He let out a long breath and then breathed in through his nose, wincing at the hike in pain in his fractured ribcage. He smelled cool, damp air and distantly heard the humdrum of activity. His heart started to quicken as he wondered where he was now and what was happening.

"Good morning."

Flynn's voice startled him and his head jerked toward the source. Of course he couldn't see, but Flynn spoke again to confirm he was sitting near Yuri's head, off to his right.

"More like afternoon, actually. I was wondering when you'd wake up. You've been asleep since yesterday evening."

He still felt tired, though. Man… yesterday had certainly been a day. He cracked his lips open and tried to speak, but his throat was dry and hoarse.

"Here, have some water." Flynn slipped his arm under Yuri's shoulders and lifted him off the mattress, then held a glass to his lips.

Yuri gratefully downed the entire glass and then fell back to the pillow with a sigh. "Thanks." Not just for the water, of course. Thanks for sitting by his bedside so that after so much panic and confusion he wouldn't wake up alone. Thanks for helping him get through the doctor's treatment even when he'd acted uncooperative and childishly. Thanks for carrying him all the way from Keiv Moc. Thanks for tracking him through the woods for hours and slaying a vicious monster before it could eat him. Yuri didn't have the energy to express all of that, so he hoped Flynn understood.

"Any time." It seemed he did.

Yuri breathed and and felt the softness of the sheets. It was nice to just lie here and rest. "Where am I?"

"You're in the medical centre at the Heliord Knight headquarters. In a private room."

"Private? Nice."

"Being the commandant has some perks." Flynn tucked some of Yuri's hair behind his ear. "You'll have to stay here for a few weeks, though."

"Weeks?!"

"It will take some time for the venom to completely leave your system, and give your eyes time to heal. You won't be able to walk on the leg with the bite for a least a week or more."

Yuri groaned at the idea of spending multiple weeks hospitalized. "It doesn't feel that bad."

"That's because it's still numb. Trust me, be glad you can't see it."

"Why? What does it look like?" The darkness over his eyes was frustrating. He wanted to tear away the bandages and examine his injuries, but he knew he couldn't see with them gone anyway. Instead, he pulled his splinted arm toward his shoulder to try to feel the wound.

Flynn caught his wrist. "It's covered in bandages right now. I saw the wounds when a nurse changed them. It's all very… pussy."

Yuri let out a snort of laughter. "Did you just use the word 'pussy'?"

"Well, I - I'm not trained in medicine - I don't know the terminology-"

"I can't believe you called me a pussy. I hurt, Flynn."

"That's not what I meant!" The red in his cheeks came out through his voice.

"Seriously, I'm hurt, it's painful to laugh."

"Then stop laughing and be serious."

"You're the one who said I'm pussy. Geeze, Flynn, I thought you were interested me because I don't have a-"

"You know perfectly well I was talking about pus - as in discharge around an infection."

Yuri really was trying to stop snickering because he had cracked his ribs and the trembling in his chest sent shocks of pain through his torso. "Sure, sure."

"Anyway." It was so easy to imagine his flushed, disgruntled face. "As I was trying to say, the wounds are pretty nasty."

"I thought the doc disinfected them. What else was the point of that acid treatment yesterday?"

"He did the best he could. They were already infected when I brought you in, so they're trying to clean them. It might help if we knew exactly what kind of venom we're dealing with, but I still don't know just what those creatures were. Did you learn anything about them while we were separated?"

"Ha… I spent the whole time running for my life, collapsing, and feeling sorry for myself. I'm not even sure if they were birds or lizards."

"Hm…. I'm not sure, either. They appeared to have traits of both."

"I've never heard of any bird that spits venom." He wanted to bring his hands up to rub his eyes, but one was encased in plaster and the other set off a torrent of pins and needles as soon as he tried to move it. He quickly let it fall still. "Argh, this sucks."

"I know." Flynn let his fingers trail along Yuri's jaw. "But it's only for a little while. You'll get the cast off in a few weeks and the numbness should be gone in a few days. Your cuts are already looking better and the bruises are on their way to healing…. It sucks for now, but you'll be back on your feet in no time."

"I think I'm looking forward to getting the bandages off my eyes the most." Yuri squirmed around on the bed and tried to get more comfortable. "It's so disorienting to not see anything. Did the doctor say when they will heal?"

There was a very long silence in which Yuri really wished he could see the expression on Flynn's face. Of course, if he could see it, Flynn wouldn't be making it. "Flynn?"

"The thing is… we don't even know what these monsters are, or what their venom is. And, the eye is a really fragile thing."

"Get to the point."

"The doctor is hoping that with treatment, some eyesight can be restored."

"Some?"

"He said… that it was unrealistic to hope for them to go back to the way they used to be. But, if you're lucky, there will be some improvement."

"Some." He was lying here with his eyes stinging and there wasn't even a guarantee he wouldn't be blind at the end of it. A best case scenario still left him partially blind, and Yuri wasn't sure what that partially might be.

"We just have to wait." He squeezed Yuri's shoulder. "Think of it as a vacation. I've already written to your friends to inform them of the situation. I assume they'll come to visit as soon as they receive the letter. And I'll stay in Heliord for as long as you're healing."

"Do I have to stay in Heliord? If I'm just lying in bed, I'd rather do it in Dahngrest or Zaphias."

"It would be better if you stayed here with the doctor who originally looked over your injuries, and moving you might be difficult."

Yuri groaned. "I hate that doctor."

"I wasn't overly fond of him myself, but he stabilized you when you were at death's door, and for that I'm grateful."

"You should go."

The hand drew away. "I'm sorry, are you tired? You should rest."

The chair creaked, signalling Flynn was leaving. Yuri wanted to grab his wrist but his arms weren't cooperating. "Wait. No. I didn't mean right now. I mean in general. I'm gonna be stuck here for a few weeks until I stop being so screwed up, but you should go back to Zaphias."

Flynn sounded higher up now; he was standing over the bed. "Nonsense. I can't just walk away while you're suffering. I can work from the Knight headquarters in Heliord. It will be fine."

"You're needed in the capital."

Flynn's lips touching his took Yuri by surprise, but then he opened his mouth and shifted his head to get a better angle. He wished he could lift his arms to wrap them around Flynn, but for now he'd have to suffice with Flynn's hand resting on his shoulder and the other stroking his head.

"I'm needed right here."

As expected, Yuri hated 'recuperating'. It was so boring to stay in bed all day. He appreciated that Flynn had gotten him a private room, but sometimes he wished he was out in the ward with everyone else just so he had a distraction from the boredom. Day in and day out, he stared into darkness and listened to the distant mumblings of the world going on without him through the window.

At least there was Flynn. Every time Flynn had a block of free time, he spent it in Yuri's room. They filled it with idle talk and stories of past adventures. Flynn told Yuri about the knights in Heliord or Yuri mused over future trips they should take when they both had the time off. It would be a while, he had to apologize, because after being away from his guild for so long recovering, his boss wouldn't give him vacation time for months.

And sometimes there were no words to be said at all. Somedays Flynn was just too stressed from work to relax, or Yuri struggled to stay awake against the tug of the painkilling drugs they kept feeding him. On those days, they sat quietly. Sometimes Flynn read a book or worked through some papers, but always he reached over to hold Yuri's hand, to let him know he was still there despite the silent darkness.

A few weeks into Yui's recovery, Flynn didn't show up until late that evening. Yuri was getting more restless than ever, because he was starting to feel well enough that he thought he could get up and walk around, if only the doctor didn't prohibit him from bearing weight on his bitten leg. Both the arm and leg had sensation again, but he struggled to move them with any speed and the muscles felt weak and painful. With his other arm in a cast, crutches were out of the question, so he was forced to stay in bed.

It had been a long day. Yuri missed getting a visit from Flynn. The biggest excitement he'd had was opening the window over his bed. With his broken ribs, sitting up had been a chore and his only usable arm was still weak, so it had taken a lot of exertion to slide it open. It had been worth it, though, to get to feel the breeze and listen to kids playing and people talking outside.

The door knocked and opened. "Good evening. It's me."

Yuri twisted to his side. "You're late."

"Sorry. I was in a meeting." Flynn reached Yuri's bedside and kissed his cheek. "How are you?"

"Same as always."

"I figured you're probably getting bored in here."

Yuri started to roll his eyes, but that hurt and Flynn couldn't see it anyway. "There's nothing to do in here."

"I talked to your doctor and he said it would be ok to go outside for a bit."

"I thought I couldn't walk?"

"That's why I brought this. Um… you can't see it but… it's a wheelchair. Let's go outside and you can get some fresh air."

Yuri didn't like the idea of being pushed around in a wheelchair, but he did like the idea of getting out of this room. "Sure, why not?" Yuri eased himself out of bed, taking it slow to avoid antagonizing his ribs. Flynn guided him to the chair and Yuri made himself comfortable. "I suppose there's no way I could push myself?"

"You can if you want. It might be difficult with your broken arm."

Yuri did try, but didn't get far. His arm flopped toward the wheel and fumbled to find the rim. His grip was weak and it took a frustrating amount of exertion to move it forward. Then he started twisting to the left, as he was only able to push one wheel. "Ok… yeah, you can push."

Flynn took up position behind Yuri, kissed his head, and pushed. A few minutes later, they were outside and Yuri relished the cool breeze.

"Nice to be outside?" Flynn asked as they moved away from the medical centre.

The chair bumped along the road. It was strange to be moving and not be able to see where he was going. Darkness was a lot easier to deal with when he was lying in bed and didn't have anything to look at anyway. "It's a great change of view. All these subtle shades of black. Impressive."

"Very funny." They came to a stop and Flynn moved to the side. His clothing rustled and wood creaked as he sat down. Probably a bench. "It's nice to be away from the capital for a while. Everything is so much more peaceful out here, and it's nice to work without the Council breathing down my neck."

"I'm glad I could be of help. I'll get myself beat up by a monster again if it helps."

"You're so considerate."

Yuri stretched his sore muscles. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Just outside the medical centre."

"I know, but… are we on a road? What are you sitting on? I don't hear any people. Is it night time?"

Flynn didn't answer right away. Yuri heard him let out a soft breath.

"Something wrong?" he asked Flynn.

"It's just... weird that you can't see for yourself."

"Hey, at least you're not the one not seeing."

"I really am sorry, Yuri." His hand landed on Yuri's knee. Flynn had been a lot more physical in the past month, touching Yuri in almost every conversation. Yuri couldn't say he minded this.

"For what?"

"I can't help but feel guilty about your condition."

"You shouldn't. We both decided to go to Keiv Moc. It's not like you dragged me there against my will."

"But it took so long for me to find you. You spent hours alone in the forest, getting chased and injured. If I'd risked sliding down to you when you first fell-"

"Then you'd have gotten injured, too, and both of us would be monster chow. The worst of the damage is my eyes, and they got screwed up the second that thing burst out of the bushes. Finding me faster wouldn't have helped."

"Argh… I suppose I just feel guilty that I came out of the forest unscathed while you're in so much pain."

Yuri reached for Flynn. His clumsy fingers smacked Flynn's chest, and then slowly slid upward. They trailed up the warm neck and to a soft cheek, which Yuri used as a guide to lean forward and kiss Flynn's lips. Unfortunately, he aimed wrong and kissed Flynn's nose instead.

"Heh. Little lower." Flynn's hands cupped Yuri's chin and guided him to his lips. If it was true that every other sense became magnified when sight was lost, that might be why this kiss was so sensational. The air was cold and everything around him was pitch black; Flynn seemed like the only other living thing, radiating warmth and comfort.

After they pulled apart, Flynn slid one arm across the back of the wheelchair, gently holding Yuri. He would be quite content to spend the rest of the night sitting out here with Flynn. If he had to sit around and do nothing, he'd rather do it in fresh air with company than alone in a room.

"You know, you never answered my question."

"Which?"

"About where we are."

"Oh. We've stepped at a bench in front of the drop to the lower part of the city. There's a flagstone road in front of us and a low wall behind us. The streetlamps are starting to turn on. It's just past sunset, so the streets are fairly empty."

Yuri constructed the scene in his mind. It sounded like a pleasant evening. What bugged him, though, was knowing that he could work that stuff out of he wanted to, by feeling around and listening. All that was part of the physical world, stuff he could touch in place of look at. What he really wanted to see was what was impossible. "I think I miss the sky the most."

"Hm?"

"Remember when we were kids and we used to try to make out constellations in the stars? I've always felt pretty good sitting under the stars. Especially since Estelle told me all about Brave Vesperia, and the star has some meaning for me now…. Ah, I'm being melodramatic. I was just thinking, I can 'see' your face by feeling it, but I can't touch the stars."

"That's true. The view of the sky is one of the few things you could never replicate with anything but sight." Flynn shifted. "Do you want to hear about it? I'll describe it to you."

"Sure."

Flynn scooted close to Yuri, squeezed his shoulder, and rested his head on Yuri's shoulder. Looking up, he started to talk. "We're sitting on a wooden bench. Well, I am. Your chair is right next to the bench. Below us, the ground is a pattern of interlocking brown stones. Behind us is a low wall, about three feet high. There are cast-iron lamps spaced along the wall, all glowing with a pale orange light. It's making your hair look more brown than usual." One hand twirled strands of said hair between his fingers. "Above us is the huge dome of the sky. Mostly dark blue, but there are streaks of cloudy purple from a distant nebula. Stars are scattered across it, and right above us is Brave Vesperia, trying to outshine the moon. The moon itself is a waxing gibbous. I assume you don't know what that means because you never listen when Estellise tries to teach you things, but it means it's bigger than half and smaller than full."

Flynn craned his neck and kissed Yuri's cheek. "It's beautiful. When you get those bandages off, you'll be able to see it too."

Yuri couldn't help smiling. The mental image Flynn had built was a thousand times better than sitting in his dark room. "When'd you get all poetic? Sap." He kissed Flynn back. "Thanks."

The pair sat outside for another fifteen minutes. They didn't need to say much when physical comfort said everything that was needed. Yuri knew Flynn still had things to do and needed to get up early for work again the next morning, but he was still disappointed when Flynn announced it was time to head back. In his dark and lonely room, Flynn kissed him one last time and bade him goodnight.

As he was getting read to go to bed, feeling the cool breeze on his face, the door opened again.

"Evening. It's Rachel." One of the nurses. They were usually good at announcing who was coming rather than making him memorize everyone's voice. "Did you have a nice visit with the commandant?"

"Good enough."

She came over to the bed and started to close the window.

"Leave it open. I like the fresh air."

"It really should be closed tonight. It's going to start raining any minute now and you'll get soaked."

Yuri frowned. "Rain? That's awfully sudden."

"Oh, no, the storm clouds have been gathering all day." The window thumped shut. "I'll open it for you tomorrow night when the sky will be clear."

"Oh… well, uh, thanks." As she left, he couldn't help thinking, Flynn, you romantic bastard.

Yuri lay on his back, eagerly waiting for the nurse to finish unwrapping the bandages. He'd been stuck here for a month, but if all went well, he'd finally be out of here today. The cast was off his arm, he'd limped around the room the other day without falling or being in horrendous pain, and he could breathe with only a faint background ache from his lungs. All in all, he was feeling pretty good.

The nurse was standing, so it was Flynn's weight on the side of the bed. One hand rested on Yuri's knee, gently squeezing to show his support. Yuri would never have made it out of that forest alive without Flynn, and he'd never have made it through this dark, boring month sane without him, either.

And now the bandages around his eyes were finally coming off. It was the moment of truth: did the doctor's cure work? Had his eyesight been restored? Had all this stinging and burning been worthwhile? He almost didn't want them to come off just so he could avoid finding out for sure if he was screwed for life or not.

The wrappings fell away. The nurse pulled the dressings away from his eyes. She turned his head to the side and squeezed some water into them to flush them out and then said, "Well, go on. Tell me what you can see."

His eyes fluttered. His heart throbbed. He looked out at the room and his stomach dropped like a rock when it was still dark. "I…."

"Yuri?"

He turned his head toward Flynn's voice. It wasn't completely dark. His eyes were adjusting, shadows swimming into focus. Nothing was coming in through one eye, but the other - fuzzy shapes distorted in front of him. Yes, he was definitely seeing something. A splash of bright yellow filled his vision and Yuri reached up to push Flynn's shoulder and get him out of his face.

The view was fuzzy, informed by a single eye and lacking peripherals, but it was clearly Flynn. Somehow, Flynn had gone and made his face more handsome in the meanwhile, or perhaps Yuri was just ecstatic to see it in general. As he came into focus, Yuri met Flynn's eyes and said, "Your hair looks even messier than usual."

After spending so long in the darkness, fearing he'd never see it again, Flynn's smile lit up the room.